COPA LIBERTADORES
Copa Libertadores: which teams have won the most times? Complete list of winners
Boca Juniors face Fluminense at the Maracana Stadium in Rio on Saturday in the 64th edition of the Copa Libertadores.
The biggest game in South American club football will take place on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro as the Maracana stadium hosts the 2023 Copa Libertadores final between Fluminense and Boca Juniors. The Brazilian team will have a slight advantage of playing at home against the Argentinian side looking to secure their seventh title, with a win set to see the Xeneizes draw level with Independiente who hold the record with seven Libertadores triumphs. El Tricolor from Rio are looking for their first ever title having only progressed to this stage once in their history ending up with a runners up medal after losing to LDU Quito in the 20028 final.
Anticipation among both sets of fans is running at fever pitch with more than 100,000 Boca Juniors fans set to descend on the Brazilian city over the weekend for the final and Fluminense ‘torcedores’ hoping that Saturday will be the biggest night in the club’s 121-year history.
Overall winners
South American footballing powerhouses Argentina and Brazil lead the way when it comes to overall winners of the competition with Argentine clubs lifting the trophy in 25 occasion to the 22 of Brazil. Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela are the three CONMEBOL nations never to have a club representative lift the famous cup.
Avellaneda based Club Atletico Independiente lead the way in overall Libertadores glory with ‘El Rojo’ crowned champions on seven occasions with the club winning the title four times back to back in the 1970s. Boca Juniors will be looking to emulate their Buenos Aires rivals on Saturday having recorded six final wins with Uruguay’s Peñarol coming third in the overall wins ranking with five titles, the last of those triumphs however coming back in 1987. Argentine duo Estudiantes and River Plate follow next in the ranking with four wins a-piece with Rver’s last win coming famously at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium when security measures forced the second leg of the final to be moved to the Spanish capital.
As of the 2019 season, and as a measure against the scenes that were witnessed in the Argentine capital ahead of the River-Boca final, CONMEBOL decreed that the final would be a one off game (as opposed to a two legged affair) at a neutral final venue that would be established ahead of the tournament.